Li Dongze refined his words and said: "The spiritual realm is a supernatural force—currently unexplainable by science, despite our persistent efforts to analyze and understand it. We still lack a complete understanding. The spiritual realm exists within reality yet simultaneously transcends it; only those chosen can enter it." "As for the method of selection..." he sipped his wine, smiling gently, "you should have felt it yourself." "That card?" Zhang Yuanqing responded at the right moment. Li Dongze nodded slightly: "It's called the Role Card. Those who obtain it are assigned a trial mission; upon successfully completing the trial, they gain a corresponding profession, along with the skills and attributes associated with that profession." "The mechanism by which the Spiritual Realm selects its travelers has not yet been fully understood, and the way role cards are distributed is inconsistent—sometimes they appear directly within your body; sometimes you find them lying on the roadside; sometimes you accidentally click on a link online... Completing trial missions is merely the beginning. To advance, to grow stronger, travelers must continuously accept new missions and enter the Spiritual Realm. But don't worry—the frequency of these missions isn't high, and not every Spiritual Realm scenario poses a life-threatening challenge. On the contrary, some are quite engaging. For instance, myself, a Level 3 Scout, have entered the Spiritual Realm once a month over the past two years, but only once every three months in solo missions—nearly dying in a few of those. The rest are group missions, which are safer and more enjoyable. After all, to gain supernatural abilities, one must inevitably pay a price." Li Dongze paused, giving Zhang Yuanqing a moment to ask questions. "Similar to a game quest?" Zhang Yuanqing shared his understanding. Li Dongze smiled: "I enjoy talking with you young people because you have strong comprehension skills and actively engage with new things." After expressing his approval, he nodded: "Exactly—like playing a game, where the spiritual realm serves as a quest. Some quests are solo-based, while others require team collaboration or team-based challenges. Solo quests are the most dangerous, with the highest mortality rate. Team-based quests are generally more manageable, with some being death-based and others imposing experience penalties." Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously: "Why are solo quests the most dangerous?" Li Dongze paused thoughtfully. "In team-based spiritual realms, you encounter spiritual travelers from other professions. In solo quests, however, you face challenges specific to your own profession. Take scouts, for example—their extraordinary realm abilities are insight, tracking, and analysis." "So the three solo spiritual realms I've encountered so far have been: playing the role of a detective to solve a case; hunting down a villain together in the jungle, where we both pursue each other like predators; and surviving in the wilderness. Moreover, each profession has distinct spiritual realm quests at the extraordinary and sage stages." I am a Night-Wanderer, and I entered a spiritual realm focused on the unusual and mysterious. Relief! Fortunately, there are also group-based quests—otherwise, I'd eventually be so frightened I'd pee my pants in the realm. Will the sage-stage spiritual realm quests change too? Zhang Yuanqing listened attentively, nodding along. "Was Lei Yibing's disappearance due to entering the spiritual realm?" Zhang Yuanqing asked firmly. He urgently needed an official confirmation to validate his hunch. If Brother Bing had entered the spiritual realm, then the situation wouldn't be too dire. Li Dongze paused and replied, "After Yibing's mysterious disappearance, the official personnel from Hangzhou City Police took over the case. Their assessment is that Yibing has already passed away within the spiritual realm." Zhang Yuanqing felt his heart suddenly stop, a wave of anxiety and panic rising uncontrollably. "Why?" Li Dongze explained: "Because it's been too long. In a normal spiritual realm quest, even at the Transcendent Realm level, it's typically several hours to a couple of days. Lei Yibing has been missing for four days now. The Transcendent Realm corresponds to levels 1 to 3." "What about beyond the Transcendent Realm?" "Unclear, but there should be longer quest durations." Maybe Bing Brother is a powerful spiritual realm traveler after all... That was the only way Zhang Yuanqing could comfort himself. For the matter of Bing Brother's disappearance, at this stage, neither in ability nor in experience could he do much to help. Compared to that, joining the official organization and then focusing on his own survival was currently the most important thing. "...By the way, before I introduce you to the official organization, there's one more important matter." Li Dongze took a sip of wine to moisten his throat. "What's your moral score?" "60 points, the initial value." Zhang Yuanqing gave an honest answer. Li Dongze nodded. "For someone like you, a newcomer, moral value is the biggest pitfall—this point must be firmly remembered." "Why is that so?" Zhang Yuanqing couldn't hide his curiosity. "Remember the note under the moral value section?" I remember—it told me to be a good person... Zhang Yuanqing almost adopted the 'Wah-Wah' expression. Li Dongze said seriously, "The initial moral value is 60. Once it drops below this threshold, the Lingjing system activates its penalty mechanism. It will notify all Lingjing travelers in the same city and issue a task to remove you." ...Zhang Yuanqing stared in disbelief and blurted out, "Then am I destined to never do anything wrong again?" Well, I'm not saying you have to do wrong—being a saint just gets exhausting. Also, what exactly is the standard for measuring moral value? If even doing a decent job or producing a slightly stiff drawing counts as moral decline, then he's truly in trouble for life. Li Dongze smiled, clearly enjoying seeing the newcomers display such expressions, and spoke slowly: "You don't need to be so tense. Based on our observations, when a Spirit Realm traveler commits theft, robbery, or causes injury, the severity of the incident determines whether 1 to 5 moral points are deducted. A killing results in a deduction of 10 points. For serious consequences involving multiple casualties, the appropriate number of moral points will be deducted according to the circumstances. As for personal conduct issues, they won't affect the moral points. Moreover, moral points can be deducted, but also accumulated. That's why we ask you to be a good person." Zhang Yuanqing instinctively felt the restriction was unreasonable, but since Li Dongze hadn't offered an explanation, it seemed he himself wasn't clear on the reason either. It was evident from their conversation that the official understanding of the Spiritual Realm was still limited. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly realized, "Ah, now I understand—难怪 it's such a major hurdle for newcomers. So how do they accumulate moral points?" After gaining their special abilities, new arrivals often use these abilities to achieve things they had always wanted to do but previously couldn't, such as securing financial gains. However, the methods for earning quick profits are all codified in the criminal law. And then there's the matter of eating at the "dragon's banquet"—eating at the expense of others, especially the wealthy. Hmm, he wasn't sure whether supporting financially struggling young women would reduce one's moral points. According to the Spiritual Realm's definition, would this be considered a lapse in personal virtue or a violation of law? Zhang Yuanqing hadn't dared to ask this question, as he didn't want to leave a negative impression on the future leaders just yet. "Accumulating moral points is just as simple as reducing them—just do good deeds." In fact, many spiritual travelers from evil organizations are deeply passionate about philanthropy and donations, as this is the fastest way to accumulate moral points—once they have sufficient funds, they can kill without restraint. Li Dongze gave a short exhalation: "Isn't it ironic that you never know what kind of faces those charitable people hide behind? And even more ironic is that human lives can be measured in money. This is true in reality, and it's equally true in the spiritual realm. "Moreover, when spiritual travelers fight each other, their moral points are not deducted." Only after Zhang Yuanqing had初步 processed these details did Li Dongze continue: "Now, let's talk about the official organizations. "The official organization we belong to is called the Five Elements Alliance, composed of five major factions: the Hundred Blossom Assembly, the White Tiger Army, the Red Fire Guild, the Water Spirit Palace, and the Central Court. These five factions represent five distinct professions: wood spirits, scouts, fire masters, water ghosts, and earth monsters." Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but silently complain: How come the official organizations are all just monsters and demons? "Besides the Five Elements Alliance, there are several other organizations with official affiliations. I'll share details about them in the materials later." Li Dongze stroked the rim of his wine glass as he spoke. "The five major organizations within the Five Elements Alliance formed their alliance over the past two decades. Prior to that, they operated independently and had rather strained relations with one another—this reflects both the principles of elemental generation and restraint, as well as differences in professional habits." Li Dongze took a sip of wine and shrugged. "Take the Hundred Flowers Society, for instance—the group of wood-elemental spirits. They're essentially extreme environmentalists and animal protection advocates. Honestly, they've even proposed that the headquarters of the Five Elements Alliance issue a regulation banning their members from eating dog meat. That's more outlandish than even God would expect. Every time I see their overly zealous, almost pathological dedication to animal welfare, I just want to kick their butts with my leather shoes." Then, Li Dongze launched a sharp critique of the four other professions besides the White Tiger military. This gave Zhang Yuanqing a more intuitive understanding of the other organizations within the Five Elements Alliance—such as the Chihuo Hall, which always acts rather than talks; or the Shuigen Palace, known for its reserved temperament and its focus on cultivating microorganisms and pathogens. Take the Tǔ Boss Zhongting, who is deeply involved in real estate and mining development, for instance. "Only our Baihu Army scouts are wise, composed, and resolute—perfect professionals," Li Dongze concluded. Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, "Do the other four organizations agree with this assessment?" "Hm, the more you say it, the more it sounds like a game, doesn't it? Within the Five Elements Alliance, some people even refer to the Lingjing as a 'game server.' In this world, each Lingjing realm functions like a distinct game instance—characters have profiles, equipment, and missions to complete. Each unique Lingjing is akin to a different quest or dungeon. Moreover, there are various professions: the members of the Chihuo Hall are bold and impulsive, always advocating for force—just like a berserker. The Shuigen Palace members possess water-controlling abilities—clearly the water mages. As for The people in the central courtyard were solid and sturdy—typical MTs. Zhang Yuanqing couldn’t help but make a joke: "Then your scouts must be the eyes in the game that cost 75 gold coins each, right?" Li Dongze was momentarily stunned, instinctively gripping the handle of his staff more tightly, and said with a composed expression: "If I were the fire master of the Chihuo Clan, I’d already have cracked your dog-headed helmet with a single staff strike." "I'm truly sorry!" Zhang Yuanqing promptly apologized. After the light exchange of banter, the atmosphere between them grew even more comfortable. Li Dongze smiled and said: "Once they surpass the extraordinary stage, scouts will possess exceptional individual combat capabilities. I truly believe this is a near-perfect profession—not an exaggeration. Of course, among the traditional professions, the Night Wandering God is widely regarded as the strongest. I mean traditional professions—excluding the evil ones. Even our scouts have to admit that the Night Wandering God is more perfect than we are." Ah? Is the Night-Wanderer quite strong? Can he handle ten opponents? Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of delight. "Could you tell me more about the Night-Wanderer profession?" Li Dongze smiled slightly, understanding the young people's natural admiration for the strong. "At the early stage of the Transcendent Realm, Night-Wanderers exhibit exceptional assassination capabilities with outstanding burst power. They also possess the abilities to communicate with souls, manipulate corpses, and command spirits—offering diverse skills and formidable combat strength. "However, Night-Wanderers are extremely rare. Currently, our branch office in Songhai has no Night-Wanderers. This is primarily because there are too few Night-Wanderer candidates who have passed the trial at the Spiritual Realm level in Songhai, and also because the Taimei Sect in the Capital continuously recruits Night-Wanderers from across the country." As he spoke, he naturally turned to inquire about the new employee's profession. "What is your profession? I hope it's not a Fire Master—I find young people with rough and impetuous temperaments particularly unbearable."